BCTC Students, Professor Win Awards at Theatre Competition

Mar 06, 2014 -

Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s theatre program attended the Region IV conference of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in Roanoke, VA in February.

BCTC students Aaron Smith and Conway Poteet (both Associate in Fine Arts students) made it to the finals round of the Irene Ryan acting competition, a prestigious acting scholarship competition. Sixteen out of the 210 pairs of students from all over the 10-state southeast region advance as finalists. Most of the competitors are from four-year programs, with many Masters in Fine Arts graduate students competing. Smith and Poteet got to perform their material in front of a large, receptive crowd.

Though they did not win the competition, Smith received the “Marvin Sims Diversity Award”, one of the regional awards given at the conference. The Region IV Marvin Sims Diversity Award goes to an Irene Ryan finalist or semi-finalist who best exemplifies and celebrates the rich diversity of our culture in the performance of an Irene Ryan Audition.

BCTC’s other student pair, Tessa Folsom and Carl Trammel, also participated in the Irene Ryan competition and were given outstanding critiques from their judges in round one, though they did not advance. All the students attended a number of plays and workshops. In addition to the acting competition, Smith and Poteet were cast and participated in the new 10-minute reading performance on Saturday.

Theatre professor Tim Davis received a regional commendation for “Exceptional Service to the Field”for his work as a production response coordinator for the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. Davis also received a "Meritorious Achievement Award" for excellence in directing for his work on Fall 2013's production of "The Laramie Project.”

KCACTF is a national organization with over 1500 productions entered from across the USA.